Monthly Archives: October 2005

Other than the Casey spousal notification case, the Samuel Alito opinion I’ve heard the most criticism of is his dissent in Doe v. Groody, where, it is said, Alito voted to authorize a strip search of a ten-year-old girl in the course of executing a search warrant. Liberals will no doubt portray Groody in the most lurid light possible, so it’s worth reviewing the case in some detail. Groody was »

At least not if you’re a liberal Democrat. The latest example is the notion that, because Miers didn’t get an up-or-down vote, Alito shouldn’t get one either. Although not all conservatives were consistent on all issues during the Miers confirmation process, there was no inconsistency on the matter of a nominee’s entitlement to a floor vote. The conservative position has always been that the president is entitled to have his »

but I’ve been on the road all day, and this is my first chance to comment on the nomination of Judge Alito. From everything I can tell, it’s a terrific selection, the only question being whether he will be confirmed. It was never going to be easy to confirm a solid conservative with a long judging track record, and events surrounding the Miers nomination have probably made things a little »

Courtesy of Ad Age: Trade paper AdAge.com reports that American workers would waste the equivalent of 551,000 years during 2005 reading blogs, online web diaries and gossip sheets, which have exploded in numbers in recent years. About 35 million workers – one in four of the labour force in the United States – spend 3 1/2 hours, or 9 per cent, of their working week on blogs, the survey found. »

Judge Sam Alito’s mother: “Of course, he’s against abortion,” 90-year-old Rose Alito said of her son, a Catholic. I love it. By the way, remember how Hugh Hewitt warned that some of Harriet Miers’ critics were undercutting the Republicans’ principled stand in favor of an up or down Senate vote for all nominees? Consider this snide observation from Ron Fournier of the Associated Press: With no sign of irony, Republicans »

Our friends at the Tony Snow Show write: On Today’s Tony Snow Show on Fox News Radio, Senate Majority Leader Frist acknowledges that he “will use the constitutional option” if needed and that “Yes, Yes” he believes he has the votes to pass it! He also says that anyone who attempts to use the filibuster will “pay a price.” Here is the transcript in relevant part: SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), »

I haven’t seen this noted anywhere, but President Bush’s approval ratings are on the rise again. These numbers from the Rasmussen poll are interesting. Bush bottomed out at 40% on Friday, after sliding steadily downhill through the month of October. Since then, however, he has bounced back to 45%, as of today. I suspect that the improvement is mostly among Republicans, and relates primarily to Harriet Miers’ withdrawal. Over the »

Judge Sam Alito has served on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals for 15 years, so he has an extensive record as an appellate judge. This distinguishes him not only from Harriet Miers, but also from John Roberts, whose brief tenure on the Court of Appeals produced only a handful of opinions. Over the coming weeks, Alito’s many published opinions will be fodder for endless speculation as to how he »

Today’s New York Sun editorial advocates a presidential pardon for Lewis Libby. This editorial does not get everything right, but on some points it swats the ball out of the park. Here are a few ot them in the space of one paragraph: If Ms. Plame didn’t want her identity out, she shouldn’t have gotten her husband a secret mission and then allowed him to wage a public campaign against »

Polipundit counts the votes of 50-54 Senators in favor of Judge Alito’s confirmation: “The roll call vote.” But what about the votes on a cloture motion, Mr. Polipundit? How goes the gang of 14? Pending his tabulation of votes on a putative cloture motion, Polipundit directs us to Ed Whelan’s ringing endorsement of Judge Alito’s nomination: “Congratulations, President Bush!” Whelan writes: In selecting Third Circuit judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. »

In his Daily Standard column, Paul finds a common thread in Prsident Bush’s approach to significant public policy issues: “The pledge.” From Bush’ perspective, as Paul sees it, the thread seems to be the pragmatism that underlies Bush’s “compassionate conservatism.” Paul’s conclusion perfectly anticipates this morning’s announcement that President Bush is nominating Third Circuit Judge Samuel Alito, a judge with a 15-year track record on the court, to the Supreme »

Power Line News has added, as of tonight, video news–in news, sports, entertainment, etc., categories. Check it out. Next, we’re going to add unique video content, starting with Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), who have agreed to send us exclusive videos. From there, the sky is the limit. Next time there is political upheaval or natural disaster anywhere in the world, anyone on the scene can send us video »

I had to laugh when I saw this Yahoo News page with “featured video” on the right side. The top video story was titled: “Political Bombshell,” and the description read: “White House tries to regroup after ‘Scooter’ Libby’s indictment and resignation.” The title of the second featured video is, “Who Is Scooter Libby?” Yes, the White House is reeling, all right. »

The Christian Science Monitor has a very interesting analysis of U.S. Army tactics in the most violent sectors of Afghanistan, with accounts of two recent battles: This has been the most violent year here since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. The US Army is moving in smaller numbers to lure the Taliban out of hiding for fights they cannot win. The result: More than 1,200 enemy deaths this »

Tax Prof points out that the main source of high gasoline prices isn’t oil company profits: [T]he biggest beneficiaries of gasoline sales are federal and state governments, not the oil industry. [F]ederal and state taxes on gasoline production and imports have been climbing steadily since the late 1970s and now total roughly $58.4 billion. Due in part to substantial hikes in the federal gasoline excise tax in 1983, 1990, and »

One of the reasons that the Claremont Review of Books is my favorite magazine is that each issue constitutes a virtual education in politics. Another of the reasons is that the CRB wages intellectual battle on behalf of the founding principles of the United States. (Subscribe online here.) The editors of the CRB have made available a few of my favorite pieces from the just-publshed Fall issue. One of the »

In the aftermath of Patrick Fitzgerald’s indictment of Scooter Libby, the estimable team of David Rivkin and Lee Casey makes the case for “no more special counsels.” They do a good job of laying out the potential disadvantages of using such “special prosecutors.” However, I think they give short shrift to the down-side of having regular Justice Department prosecutors investigate alleged wrongdoing by the president, vice president, or their top »